Absolutely
by ThatHufflepuffGirl1103
Summary: Just a little post-Bloodlines fluff. Barry returns home from the DNA test at Mount Justice, and he and Iris have a heart-to-heart talk. The world needs more Barry/Iris. Because they're amazing. One-shot. Mild spoilers?


It was very early the next morning when Barry finally returned from Mount Justice. Iris had been determined to wait up for her husband, arming herself with a good book and her iron will, but when Barry stepped quietly through the front door a few hours later, she was asleep on the living room couch.

So much had changed in the past few hours. His grandson, his actual _grandson_, had appeared from the future and saved his life. It made his head hurt to try and sort out what the heck that would mean in the long run, now that Bart was stuck here in the past. What would happen in the future because of his absence? How would the time-stream be affected by his actions in the present?

Forty seemed like too young of an age to start thinking that he was too old for this. He could hear Jay chuckling in his head. _"Watch it, youngster."_

And then there was Iris.

Barry walked slowly, quietly, to the couch where his wife lay, snoring lightly, a habit she stubbornly denied. He couldn't help but smile. Kids. They were finally having kids. He tucked that frightening thought away, kept it in an abstract box in the back of his head to dissect later, because if he started thinking about it now he might have a breakdown, and Iris' back would be sore if she spent the whole night curled up like that.

She needed her husband. Not the Flash, who had problems out the wazoo at the moment, but Barry Allen, who had vowed to be there for her for better or worse. The confusing had to fit in there somewhere, right?

Barry dug his arms under his wife's sleeping body, and carefully lifted her from the couch. He took a moment to marvel, for probably the millionth time, how she seemed to be built for that space in his arms, curled against his chest. The though filled him with an irrational happiness that made his skin prickle and his chest ache. Then, quick as a flash, he carried her up to their bedroom.

Once Iris was tucked into bed, Barry took his time undressing and pulling on his favorite navy blue sweats and baggy gray blue t-shirt. The familiar mechanics of the movements helped his racing mind to slow down a bit. He took longer than usual to brush his teeth, further setting his mind at ease.

When he finally came back into the bedroom, Iris was awake.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered, smiling gently as he peeled back the covers and scooted in beside her. "There'll be plenty of time in the morning."

"No. We need to talk about this." Iris pulled herself up into a sitting position. She had changed into pajamas, Barry noticed belatedly―probably not the smartest move if her plan had been to stay awake. The unbearably clingy white tank top and red drawstring pants with little yellow lightning bolts that Wally had gotten her for her birthday two years ago as a joke were going to make it hard to concentrate.

"I told you we were having kids, and then you went off and saved Central City from some psychotic glowing nut-job who almost _killed_ you, and_ then_ you found out that this kid who saved your life is really our grandson who traveled back from the future." Her green eyes softened, and she placed a hand on his arm. "How are _you_ feeling about all of this?"

Barry almost told her he was fine, completely fine, and that they should really go to sleep. But that would have been a lie. Well, the fine part anyway.

"It's a lot to take in," Barry confessed, adding a shaky laugh because really, after all he had been through in the past three hours, he could probably drown a therapist with all the emotions he was feeling.

Iris frowned at her husband. "You're upset."

"_No_. No. Of course not." Barry's expression was earnest. "This is amazing, _amazing_ news. It's just a little unexpected, you know?" He ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, we weren't _trying_―"

"We weren't exactly trying to _prevent_ it, either," Iris reminded him, making Barry's face heat up. The clingy camisole she was wearing _really_ wasn't helping. He cleared his throat.

"Right. You're right. It's just, after nine years, I wasn't prepared for the possibility. And now..." The tingling sensation faded from Barry's cheeks as he reached over and cradled his wife to him. She pressed her face against his shirt.

"Do you want them, Barry?" Her voice sounded sad and uncertain. "You seemed sort of―_shocked_―when I told you."

Barry could hear the surprise in his own voice. Was that the conclusion she had reached while he was gone? "Of course I do." He started to rub small, slow circles into Iris' back with his thumb. "I was _shocked_ because there was some weird kid running around our living room, hugging everyone and claiming to be the son of a kid we haven't had yet."

He couldn't see it, but he felt his wife's smile against his chest. "That _does_ tend to surprise most people." When he chuckled, she pulled away and searched his face with her eyes. "You're sure you're okay with all of this?"

He wasn't sure of the specifics of what "all of this" would entail, like juggling being a Superhero and a parent at the same time, but one thing was for certain―with Iris by his side, Barry could do anything.

Even be a dad.

So he responded, "Absolutely.


End file.
